Conditions of sale for sales orders within the scope of Timed Auctions

1. General information.

The following conditions of sale apply to the placement of sales orders within the scope of so-called Timed Auctions carried out by Kunsthaus Lempertz KG, Neumarkt 3, 50667 Cologne (hereafter referred to as “Lempertz”).

Please also note the general conditions of sale, which are attached, for the execution of Timed Auctions and the purchase contracts concluded within the framework of Timed Auctions.

Please also be aware that Timed Auctions is purely a sales auction and is neither a public auction according to § 312 g Abs. 2 Nr. 10 BGB nor a traditional auction according to § 34 b Gewerbeordnung, § 156 BGB. Other contract conditions apply to these types of auctions in the legal sense.

Please also note the application of the distance marketing directive.

2. Lempertz sells within Timed Auctions as commission agent in its own name on account of its clients (sellers). Until the art auction takes place, the seller is bound by the order. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, any works of art which are not sold at Timed Auctions may furthermore be sold by Lempertz in the open market, online or offline, within three months after the end of the auction under appropriate application of the present conditions of order placement.

3. The consignor ensures that they are the owner of the items and authorised to dispose of them or that they have been authorised to do so on behalf of the owner. The consignor ensures that they have provided all the information about the provenance and origin of the objects that is known to them. Should the consignor be consigning cultural goods from a country of origin other than Germany, they ensure that they have abided by the export regulations of the country of origin (cf. §§ 21 ff KGSG) and the import regulations of Germany (cf. §§ 28 ff KGSG). The items sold are used. The consignor is liable to Lempertz in corresponding application of the law of sale for any material or legal defects in the objects consigned.

4. a) The seller will pay

• for consignments with the Old Masters, Decorative Arts, and Asian Art department

9% of the hammer price in the case of items over € 20,000 each

13% of the hammer price in the case of items between € 4,000   and 19,000 each

17% of the hammer price in the case of items up to € 3,999 each

(plus VAT) as commission to Lempertz.

• for consignments with the Modern Art, Contemporary Art, and Photography department

9% of the hammer price in the case of items over EUR 50,000 each

13% of the hammer price in the case of items between EUR 5,000 and EUR 49,999 each

17% of the hammer price in the case of items up to € 4,999 each

(plus VAT) as commission to Lempertz

The commission includes any relevant resale rights fees amounting to 1.8 %. Alongside the art auction, Lempertz also takes responsibility for the cataloguing of the objects, presentation in the online catalogue, storage, insurance (see paragraph 6), exhibition, and advertisement.

b) The charge for colour plates is € 90 (VAT included).

5. In the scope of Timed Auctions, Lempertz arranges a starting price and a deadline in which offers for this object can be placed (hereafter referred to as “offer deadline”) in consultation with the consignor. A subsequent increase of the starting price is excluded.

Offer. The placement of a purchase offer by an interested buyer is carried out through the placement of a purchase price bid.

Acceptance. When the offer deadline is concluded or following a termination of the deadline ahead of time by Lempertz, Lempertz accepts the purchase offer of the customer who placed the highest purchase bid within the offer deadline. This concludes a contract of sale for the object in question between Lempertz and the highest bidder, at which point the remaining purchase offers for the object expire. 

If works of art are not sold, Lempertz reserves the right to charge the client 1% of the estimate in addition to the agreed incidental costs, as compensation for the expense of insurance. If the order is withdrawn apart from any decision by Lempertz, the full commission is payable by the client.

6. The works of art must be delivered to Lempertz, and if taken away at the expense and risk of the seller, the cost of transportation, transit insurance, and any handling costs, due to the freight agent, will be borne by the seller. Lempertz will at its own expense insure the items for the estimated price against burglary/theft, fire, and water mains damage during the period of its custody. In the event of other damage, particularly to frames, Lempertz is liable only for wilful intent or gross negligence. It is not possible to store packaging.

7. If items unsold are not collected by the consignor within three months from the date of the auction, the custody and insurance duty of Lempertz ends. Lempertz is then, at the expense of the seller, entitled to store the items itself or with an art freight agent, and to insure them on the basis of the lower estimated price. Other insurance and storage costs will be borne by the seller; in the case of storage by Lempertz itself, these will amount to 1% of the estimated price per annum. In the event of loss or damage, Lempertz will be liable only for wilful intent or gross negligence.

8. Within five weeks after the end of the art auction, the seller will receive an invoice and the auction proceeds minus the commission and any costs incurred, provided that the proceeds have been received by Lempertz. If Lempertz does not receive the auction proceeds, Lempertz may, without legal disadvantage, subsequently after notification of execution of the order, disclose the identity of the seller to the buyer. If the item has already been handed over to the buyer, Lempertz will be liable to the seller for the proceeds. Costs for non-cash disbursement will be borne by the payment recipient.

9. This contract includes all agreements between the consignor and Lempertz. The binding general terms of sale for consignors and purchasers for Timed Auctions are provided separately. Special reference is made to paragraph 11: “Lempertz undertakes, in the case of deviations from the catalogue description that annul or significantly reduce the value or usefulness of the items which are expressed in a justified manner within one year of delivery, to assert their rights against the consignor in court. The German language version of the catalogue is the authoritative version. In the case of successful claims against the consignor, Lempertz will refund only the full purchase price to the buyer.” The consignor agrees to the contents of the general terms of sale for Timed Auctions. Oral collateral agreements are not valid. Changes and amendments to these terms of sale must be carried out in writing in order to be valid.

10. As far as this can be agreed, the place of performance and jurisdiction is Cologne. German law applies; the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, CISG are not applicable. Should any provision herein be wholly or partially ineffective, this will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.

Regarding the treatment of personal data, we would like to point out the data protection notice on our website. (https://www.lempertz.com/en/privacy-policy.html).